There’s a scene in the Hollywood classic “Field of Dreams” in which a ghostly Archibald “Moonlight” Graham reflects on what turned out to be his one and only game as a major league baseball player 50 years earlier.

“You know, we just don’t recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they’re happening,” the aging doctor said. “Back then I thought there’ll be other days. I didn’t realize that was the only day.”

They’re words another group of young baseball stars should keep in mind as they head South to play Florida in an NCAA Super Regional this weekend.

The perception is that the N.C. State baseball team has nothing to lose in its best-of-three series against the favored Gators, the No. 1 ranked team in the nation. With six key freshmen locked in for at least two more years by the rules of their sport, including ACC Pitcher of the Year Carlos Rodon, the Wolfpack figures to have at least two more legitimate shots at getting to the College World Series no matter what happens in Gainesville.

While there is certainly some validity to that thought process, considering the collective youth of coach Elliott Avent’s squad, we are also keenly aware that there are no guarantees in life.

Just ask the North Carolina basketball team, which immediately assumed it would roll into the Final Four and play for the national championship the moment stars Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Tyler Zeller decided to return to school two summers ago. Or NFL Hall of Famer Dan Marino, who never got back to the Super Bowl after losing to the San Francisco 49ers in just his second season as a pro.

As bright as their future together might be, there's no guarantee Mark Gottfried and C.J.Leslie will be celebrating again next season

The point is that no matter how bright State’s 1,000-watt baseball future might be, you just never know if it ever get another chance as good as this.

That’s why instead of approaching this Super Regional as if its playing with house money, the talented Wolfpack should attack it with the urgency of an aging team getting one final kick at the can together before its players are sent off in separate directions.

It’s a concept expressed by State basketball coach Mark Gottfried the day before his team faced a similar situation against Kansas in the NCAA Sweet 16 in St. Louis.

“You always think ‘Well, I’ll be back here again,’” Gottfried said. “Hopefully you are. Hopefully your program is one where you’re in the Sweet 16 (or Super Regionals) regularly. But it’s also very difficult. So you don’t want to lose the opportunity. You don’t want to be happy just to be here.”

Gottfried’s basketball team heeded his advice and took Kansas right down to the wire before falling three points short in March. As good as stars C.J. Leslie, Lorenzo Brown and Richard Howell were in that game, that Wolfpack team might have been able to finish the job and pull off the upset if it had an ace in the hole like Rodon at its disposal.

The hard-throwing left-hander is x-factor that makes State a dangerous team no matter who the opponent might be.

Avent

He’s 9-0 this season with a 1.61 earned run average and 132 strikeouts in 111 2/3 innings – ranking him third nationally. Armed with a fastball clocked at 99 MPH, he hasn’t been charged with a loss since his junior year in high school.

If Rodon can continue his magic and steal Game 2 of the series with Florida, his teammates would only need to win one of the next other games to punch their unexpected ticket to Omaha. They’ve got heart and the bats to do it, as they showed in last week’s regionals against UNC Wilmington and Vanderbilt.

They also have the safety net of knowing that – with the exception of All-ACC outfielder Ryan Matthews, fellow senior Andrew Ciencin and perhaps recently drafted shortstop Chris Diaz – they can always come back and give it another try next year.